The Pain in between
by superhiddleswholove
Summary: This is an AU story set in between the movie's Thor and The Avengers that follows two characters, Loki and Liz. It tells the story of Loki and how he was tortured, and what the Tesseract is and how exactly it got there/it's purpose. As Loki is being tortured, he sees the vision of this poor, lost teenage girl named Liz. He decides that before he destroys Earth, he will find Liz.
1. Chapter 1

In the beginning there was darkness. There has always been darkness, and there will always be darkness. But in the beginning another force was created, light, and all of its aspects with it.

Most people believe that you are always either in the darkness or in the light, but only some know of another force. A force of chaos and confusion in the twilight, not quite darkness, but not quite light either, the pain in between.

OOO

Loki desperately looked into the eyes of the all-father, who was not his real father; the idea still stung tears into his sorrowful eyes. He had failed; he had lost the throne, his father's approval, and everything he'd ever known. All he wanted to do was to rid Asgard of Jotunhiem and its wretched monsters. He did this with the thought he could prove himself worthy son to his father, and prove that he was an equal to his brother Thor. The tears welled up even farther. He was so desperate just for that one moment of triumph, the moment he would no longer be mocked, no longer seen under the shadow of Thor. But now everything had been stripped away from him.

Now he dangled by the end of Gungnir, the great scepter of Odin, Thor only a few feet above him. They hung off the edge of the now destroyed bridge, the debris from the Bifrost were plummeting into the void below. He clung to one desperate thought, the thought his father, after all he had done, could still forgive him, could still accept him. This was his last chance. His voice was shaking and his whole body was trembling in exhaustion, he mustered enough strength to plead, "I could have done it father!" He chocked back a sob. "I could have done it!" He waited half a second to catch his breath again, on the verge of bursting into tears. "For you, for all of us!" Loki cried this last defense with every ounce of emotional strength, tears welling up in his eyes even further. He felt one drip down his face. Time seemed to freeze for those few seconds, waiting for the small chance of approval, of being revived. He was holding back another sob; it was getting so much harder to control his emotions. Loki was wondering how long this terribly agonizing moment would last, how long it would torture him. "No, Loki," Odin said, with an expressionless look, but his tone gave away everything.

Loki's heart dropped into his stomach, he could not believe that in two words, the last thing he craved was forever stripped away from him. He was an empty shell, nothing but empty echoes of a false life rung through the barren place left by his soul. He was completely speechless, he knew there was nothing he could say or do to even remotely gain what he had just lost. He was broken, dead, nothing. He had no will, no strength, nothing. He felt as if he would just shrivel away into the wind, and the emptiness consumed him.

He looked into the eyes of Thor; he couldn't even recognize his own brother, who had been his only friend. Thor always could see right through Loki, no matter how hard he tried to hide his emotions Thor always found him, always knew what he was feeling. Thor had always been a nuisance, always stealing everything, but only now did Thor show reluctance. Thor's eyes widened, he could see the emptiness, and that Loki was no longer willing to go on anymore. He saw panic string through those glowing ice blue eyes. "Loki-"

The God of Mischief allowed his hand to slip down the staff slightly, testing his only strength left. "Loki, No!" Thor exclaimed, his eyes welling up with tears. Loki could not stand it any more, he wanted to leave this all behind, and he was ready. He slowly released the grip of his hand; each finger released slid him further down, more tears streamed down his face. He took one last look at the familiar stars that surrounded the Asgardian skies. They had always been there to comfort him when things weren't going right, when someone had irritated or mocked him, or when Thor was off on some adventure he was not worthy for. Thor choked a sob, and gave a last begging puppy eyed look. Loki looked up, then slowly closed his eyes. He leaned his head back and took a last shivering breath, one last tear streamed down his face, as he released his hand from the staff.

"NOOOO-" Thor screamed a dreadful, painful cry of loss. The sound was quickly cut off by the howling wind of the vortex below. He felt weightless, free. He felt the tension of the vortex climax as he reached its dark empty mouth. He opened his eyes just as the vortex closed, as he saw a last small section of the stars fade away, and then there was darkness.

OOO

She slammed the locker closed, angry and humiliated, and slung her backpack across her shoulder, nailing the bitch Taylor that had ruined everything and knocking her off balance. "Ow! Oh, come on Liz! Learn to take a joke!" Taylor said between her gasps of laughter. Not even looking back at her Liz shoved a narrow path through the laughing crowd that had gathered around her, the faces around her were still crying tears of laughter at her arrogance and stupidity.

Shoving and pushing as fast as she could, she hastily tried to get away from the situation, that horrible and embarrassing moment. Even her best friend didn't give a second thought of helping her and laughed along with the crowd at her humiliation. She now had nothing and no one who would respect her again. Some of the teachers were even smirking and giggling, what little of a social life she had was stripped from her.

A boy shoved her, laughing even harder as she was knocked onto her face, her bag slipped off her shoulder and slid about a foot away from her landing space. She had obviously bruised her ribs and her arm in the viscous attack, she grunted as she slowly rose to her knees, feeling around for her backpack. _As if my humiliation wasn't bad enough_ she thought. She spotted her backpack and reached for the nearest strap. Before her hand could grasp it, another hand had grabbed it and snatched it out of her reach. She was furious. She didn't understand why they felt the need to do this. She didn't understand why they couldn't just have enough of this humiliation for once, and just leave her alone to sulk in her failure, but instead make it worse and worse.

She flew onto her feet and whipped around to face the arrogent person who had just done this, they had made a mistake of pushing her so far. Tears welled up into her eyes, and she closed them to hold the tears into her eyes. "God dammit! Give it back! Haven't you had enough already!?" She screamed into the crowd. She opened her eyes to see not a teenager, but a man in a suit. But not just any man, the principal.

Her mouth dropped open in astonishment; this was the only way that this situation could get worse. "I-uh..I…" Liz stuttered, unable to speak. She was looking around at the astonished faces of her peers, and she heard a snicker further back, probably Taylors. The tears welled up and spilled over her eyes, she could not believe that everything could just end like this. "It's alright Elizabeth, here's your bag, just go on home. We can talk tomorrow," He said, giving her a sweet reassuring smile. He turned to the crowd, and his face turned into a very dark expression, he was going to regain control. "Every single last one of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Tyler, my office, NOW! As for the rest of you, GO HOME!"

Everyone scrambled over each other to escape the head masters wrath. Liz joined the mad run, trying to find the nearest exit so she could run home. It was the only safe place. She finally spotted the east doors of the building and slowly pushed her way through the crowd to her freedom. She slammed through the doors, the cool and crisp mid autumn air sending a delightful sting onto her dampened face.

Liz ran, and ran, and ran until she was completely out of breath and the tears came dumping out of her eyes. She usually rode the bus, for it's a long walk back to her house, but she didn't want to think about being on the bus with all of those people. A chill ran through her bones as she caught her breath, she wrapped her arms around her shoulders and shivered. She slowly picked some of the silly string out of her hair, she had forgotten about it. The confetti had blown away in the wind, and took some of the humiliation with it. She had forgotten her jacket in her locker, but she didn't want to see that locker again, she didn't even want to go out in public again.

Taylor was one of the most popular girls in her school, and she basked in her power and glory. She could get any guy anytime of day, she had at least five guys around her 24/7. The only girls she talked to were her mindless zombie copy cats that swoon over her perfection. Everything about her was perfect, and she felt only one could possibly compete with her beauty, Liz.

Taylor knew everything about everyone in the school, not a single rumor escaped her evil clutches. She had recently heard about Liz, and her new crush, it was almost too good to be true. She was good friends with this particular guy, and he was willing to do anything for her, and the horrible and evil ideas hatched in her brain. She already had Liz's only friend on her side, so she told her to spread a rumor that this guy was interested in her, and to personally tell Liz all of this "big news". She talked to her crush and told him to play along with the rumor, and at the end of the week to confront her. Liz could not believe in all of this, she was absolutely shocked and happier than she'd ever been before in her life.

The day finally came when her crush confronted her, Liz was overwhelmed with fear and froze as he pretended to act nervous and court her. But with her full attention on the boy, Taylor had snuck behind her with her stupid posy, and attacked her with silly string and confetti guns. They burst her ears, and even one of them started bleeding. Everyone saw, and she was forever ruined, it was the final straw for her.

She did not know it but the only reason that Taylor ridiculed her was so she could stay on top, Taylor was fueled by the fact Liz had not taken her place, and she was still the best. Taylor died highlights into her light brown hair and straightened it to perfection, she caked on foundation so Liz would not see her freckles and blemishes, she starved herself and ran all the time to keep herself in perfect condition, and she constantly caused a new problem to keep all attention on her. Most people knew this, it was easy to tell, but everyone was so afraid of her power that they just worshiped her instead.

Liz on the other hand, was entirely different from all of those giggling zombies; she did not worship anyone, not even God. She could not stand the fact of having to follow along in everyone else's footsteps and put up with their injustice, there for she was seen as an outcast and was ridiculed for her different ways. Liz had naturally white hair that rolled onto her shoulders with only a simple brushing every now and then. She had dark blue eyes and she never wore make-up, she never really wanted to. She was very athletic and had fast reflexes, so there for she had a fairly toned and muscular body.

Liz hated her hair; she thought it made her stand out even more like a freak, so she always wore some sort of hat. She couldn't wear make-up because it irritated her skin, she did not mind though; she wasn't trying to make anything about herself stand out. The only time she had tried to put make-up on was with her mother, when she was still alive. Liz thought she looked like a clown, and then the hives broke out and she couldn't even go to school for a week. Liz always wore baggy shirts to hide her upper body. She could not stand herself at all.

Her mother was very kind to her, and told her she still looked beautiful even with her angry swollen hives. She was also very beautiful, her father loved her so much, and with her everything was perfect. But then came the day, the day of the accident, the day life as she knew it changed forever. Her mother was killed in a flash flood over a bridge. It was a weak, worn down old bridge, and a large storm had been brewing all day, flooding a lot of the area. There was so much rain the dam broke up river, sending large amounts of water everywhere, and every stream and tributary filled at an alarming rate until of the city was flooded. Her mother was at a weak spot in the bridge, and the water collapsed one of the pillars, sending her plummeting into the water, they never found the body.

Her dad couldn't take the pain of the loss, he was too selfish to think of the support his own daughter needed, and only consumed himself with his own pain and endless sorrow. One morning Liz woke up to the sound of her aunt sobbing at the table, only to find her father had disappeared entirely. Her aunt did not talk to her, only acknowledged her existence with a nod as she made her meals. She has never found her father's whereabouts, even when she has hopelessly looked for the cowardly man, but with no avail. Liz had known no comfort since then.

As Liz walked home everything was silent, not even a car or bird, just the whispers of the chilling wind of the threatening winter. She was shivering violently, with at least a mile to go she tread on ahead, not even bothering to look at the world around her. She didn't care anymore. Her eyes were red and puffy and her checks were crusty and stinging, the wind only making it worse. She had run out of tears for now, but she knew they would come back as the images from the horrible day would haunt her in her sleep.

She longed for the little comfort she used to have, her best and only friend since kindergarten. She longed to hear her voice or to laugh with her was the greatest joy in her day. Now only empty echo's bounce around, sending painful throbs of the terrible betrayal and disgrace she has been shown, she truly has no one now. The idea of this sunk her heart into her stomach, she didn't know why she still bothered to trust, love, hope, or even live anymore. A little part of her heart, now almost completely deteriorated, still had hope. It still thought one day everything would be right and happy again. That she would find her father, her aunt would come out of her sorrowful shell of silence, Taylor would finally get bored with her, and that she could finally get a good night's sleep.

That little part of her kept her walking down that street, kept her diaphragm pumping air in and out of he lungs, kept her away from the knives, guns, pills, kept her eating and exorcizing, and kept her strong heart beating. Even after all she's been through she still has enough self strength, built by her mother, to move through life. But even though most people would see her as strong, courageous, and bold for these aspects, people forget that the pain is still always there.

It still haunts her every dream. It still burdens her heart and keeps her from loving anything, and it still weighs a heavy burden on her heart. She has to live with it every day without comfort or pity from anyone, and that is the worst pain of all.

OOO


	2. Chapter 2

A girl, beautiful beyond all comparison, stood by a ledge wearing a white dress, the glorious sunset shining upon her. The straps of her gown fell down her shoulders. Her corset elegantly spread across her chest, gently outlining her bosom, but not drawing too much attention to it. It neatly fitted her long torso, and her skirt elegantly and slowly started to fold into ruffles on her right side until it reached the ground. There were clear jewels spreading from the left shoulder of the corset in a thin line, and then the line thickening as it reached the folds. The ruffles started just above her back side and slightly curved down the front, showing her beautiful curves. Her skirt barely covered her feet, adding to her elegant position. She had a necklace, with a silver chain, and a charm on the end. The charm was a symbol, a familiar symbol at that, and it sat in the middle of her chest, brilliantly glimmering in the sunsets light. She had a long thin neck that ran up to her jaw line. Her jaw was smooth and elegant and lead to her chin, which slightly protruded outwards. Her chin curved in to her lips, which were naturally red and luscious against her pale skin. Her long pure white hair was straight at the top, and then gently curled down the left side of her head, and all of it fell upon her left shoulder. But what stood out the most, what shone more brilliantly than all the precious jewels in Asgard, what captivated the eyes, what was bluer than the deepest sea, was her eyes.

Loki was standing before her, and he could not believe the angel he saw standing before him. She was gazing out into the horizon, completely relaxed, worry and care free. Her endless gaze suddenly broke, and she looked down, as if hesitant to see who was behind her, and she looked up into his eyes. Her eyes were so brilliant, so hopeful, filled with so much joy at the sight of him. Small tears of joy welled into her eyes, and then she smiled. Loki's heart stopped, he wanted to forever freeze that moment, and spend the rest of his days gazing into those deep eyes as she smiled.

She approached him, slowly as if she was savoring this moment too. When she was close enough to him Loki grasped her smooth hand gently, and caressed it into both of his hands. He was still in awe of the moment, and baffled by her touch. He smiled, and with one hand in hers, pulled her closer. Then he very gently slid his arm around her waist, savoring, and craving every last inch of her, as he pulled her strong body against his. His heart threatened to jump into his throat as she put her hand on his shoulder, slowly sliding it to the nape of his neck. He gazed down into her beautiful eyes and brushed her check ever so gently, as if he would break the flawlessness.

He stroked his hand down her neck, then gently grasped it, their lips were drawing ever closer. He could feel her hearts fluttering in her chest, just as his own was, and they never broke eye contact. He could feel soft, warm breath upon each his lips. He was shaking, anticipating, craving what was inevitably to come. Loki closed his eyes, and became aware from everything he was feeling. He never wanted to leave this moment, he felt so happy, so free. He pulled her lips to his, and he felt a spark, a burst of love, passion, as a tingle of pleasure ran through his very core.

But then, everything was cut off, and he felt an overwhelming aching and sadness fill him that was not his own. Out of the darkness and emptiness he just felt, he was suddenly in a room, a Midgaurdians chambers. He saw a girl, lying upon her bed, sobbing, he felt her sadness as if it were his own. He felt this false hope, the constant ridiculing, and this ache for something that was not there. But she stopped, and looked straight at him as if she knew he was there, but could not see him. Loki saw her brilliant eyes glimmer with tears, he knew those eyes. A curious look cam across her face, and it suddenly dawned upon Loki that he knew this girl, the same angel he saw standing next to the ledge.

The shock hit him like a rock, bursting him out of a deep, deep slumber. He jolted upright, and tears were streaming down his face. He could not keep control over himself, and he could not keep the tears from bursting out of his eyes. He lay back as he sobbed and sobbed, pained by the craving and loss of this beautiful girl, confused by her too. And then, the emptiness from his current past, where he knew everything was forever gone, consumed him. He lay back on the hard surface, and stared into the sky. That is when he realized something else.

Where was he? He looked around, and nothing but black, rocky, and dull terrain surrounded him. The ground was coated in a thin layer of soot, but the soot had the strangest texture, as if it was just the soil. He ran his hands across the strange earth, feeling the powdery substance underneath his fingertips, but stopped when he felt a sharp pain. He looked down at his hand. It was bleeding, the drops oozing out of the black layer of soil that lined his hand.

Seeing his hand bleed, and feeling the pain of something physical instead of emotional, revived him from his surreal despair. He was alive! He had survived the vortex, and was now on some distant realm he did not know of. How, he did not know. He would never see Asgard again, and he would never see his brother again. He knew now he had survived, he had to have a new purpose. He had to find a new motivation to survive.

The memories of the beautiful girl filled his mind, the thrill and pleasure of her body against his, and the happiness he felt. At that moment was when he knew his purpose. He had to find this girl, this girl in pain. It mattered not who she was, or if they even talked. He just wanted to see her with his own eyes, to prove that she is in fact real.

Suddenly the pain in his hand sharpened beyond what it should, and he looked down at his hand to see the bleeding had ceased. He looked at where his hand had rested, and saw a fragment of glass, fairly large. A glimmer of ice blue ran across it's edge, something curious. But just as it passed, a jolt of pain and agony hit him, and a feeling of helplessness. He could feel the devastating destruction that ripped this realm apart.

He saw glowing white towers, gleaming in the sunlight; their majesty brought tears to his eyes. It reminded him of his home, and the pain from the fresh wound in his heart stabbed him again. The towers were sitting on a high hillside that looked over the bay of a red sea. Everything was green, alive, and teeming with life. He saw the people of this realm on their carts with their strange looking six legged horse-creatures, going on with their daily lives. He saw the sun lower further and further, being pulled by the gentle lulling waves of the bay into the sea. It was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. The sun sank over the edge of the gleaming sea, and the light slowly faded, to a glorious sight.

The towers glowed in the darkness, a pale white light illuminating off of its very surface. At the top of the highest tower, that stood on the north side of the hill, was a light brighter than anything he'd ever seen. Its light pierced the air and shot like a beam into the other stars above. It was something out of a dream.

A voice interrupted his vision. "Beautiful isn't it?"

Loki turned to see a cloaked man with a strange helmet on his head that covered his eyes standing next to him. The helmet covered most of his head, except for a wired opening around his mouth that closed off again a few inches below his chin. He had a strange breastplate encrusted with strange patterns and runes he could not recognize, in fact his entire amour suit was lined with the same repeated pattern. The strangest aspect of him was his very large hands, with an extra thumb. The strange man looked to him, and Loki was still shocked by him.

The man obviously saw his surprise and integrity, for he laughed. It was a deep, menacing, rasp cackle that sent more chills into Loki's body. "You are frightened, as well as you should be, Asgardian child. I would tell you my name, but we are not here for me. You are here for a much more glorious purpose," The man said. This intrigued Loki further, a purpose. The word seemed so alien to him now. This might be his hope, and his way out of the deep sorrow he wallowed in. "It is… The most beautiful sight I've ever seen," Loki said, turning his gaze back towards the beam of light, which was also very intriguing. "That it is. That it is…" His voice trailed off as he followed Loki's gaze to the light.

A horrible, gut twisting, frightening smile crept across his slender, pale blue face. The action showed a horrible lining of sharp, blackened teeth, very much like the soil he cut his hand in. "That is the light of Alashia, the majestic star that glows out to all of the systems in our galaxy. Her power has no equal in the known universe. She as the power to build life, and the to destroy worlds, all in a matter of seconds," He sighed, the smile fading again to his straight and rigid face.

"What surrounded her were the white towers of Azrial, and they glowed along with its aluminous and internal light. She helped power our worlds every need. This was the holy city and capital of this realm, Aidreneth. We lived and thrived as the smartest and most humble of beings in the universe for billions of years, all under the grace and power of Alashia. We had no need to fear anyone, for her power also gave us weapons to provide defense against any and all who would try to destroy her beautiful light. But, despite even the most powerful of lights to protect us, all great civilizations must come to an end."

The scenery began to change as the world was suddenly zooming in towards Alashia. "Alashia could not provide everything all by herself, despite her power. So it was decided in the great beginning, by the creators themselves, in which one would be chosen to wield this light, and to direct its power when she could not. Alashia's keeper would be referred to as the Aldrael, sworn to protect and serve the light with their mind, body, and spirit." The scene rippled into another scene, showing two pale blue creatures, which looked like they were prowling in the dark trying not to be seen.

"Whom you see now is Zegan and Salka, the bringers of destruction, who worked under the last Aldrael before the apocalypse of old. The Aldrael would appoint three apprentices to learn the ways of wielding the power of Alashia, and they would compete with each other constantly to become the next Aldrael. The Aldrael, when the time came for Alashia to gain a new barer, would choose one of these apprentices through Alashia. This was how it was always done since the great beginning, and always would be." The world around him showed a small room, small but still beautiful. At the end of this room showed a light that lead up into the sky. The light dulled for a moment to show a large sphere, it was larger than anything he had ever seen. Its brilliancy was beyond anything Loki had ever seen, the pure energy that could power the universe harnessed into this large sphere.

He saw Zegan and Salka slowly sneak into the doorway of the room. He saw the same awe go across their eyes that he had, but it had a mixture of lust and power also. They went to each side of the sphere, and began chanting a spell in an ancient language he could not understand. The sphere shone and flashed in response to this. But the flashing became violent, as if it was trying to fight against the spell they were chanting. A string of shadows encircled the sphere and the bringers of destruction, dancing to an eerie tune ringing through the air. It slowly became louder and louder, drowning out the words to the spell they were chanting. The sphere flashed and sparkled, sending sparks shooting out at the ring of shadows, but for every dancing shadow destroyed a new one filled the edge of the circle, the sphere was losing to the spell.

"They are chanting the spell of destruction. This spell was made to desolate Alashia into smaller parts so that it's power would not be lost, but divided until all was safe and well again. It was never to be used but in great peril. But Zegan and Salka knew that they could take certain divided sections of the Alashia, and become the most powerful being of all, for each section holds a certain power of equal creation and destruction. And each section was disguised so that it would be impossible to tell it's origin," Sliver lines ran through and over the humongous sphere, diving it into a grid of cubes that made a complex puzzle, and the lines grew brighter and brighter until Loki could no longer look at the scene.

The shadow's song grew deafeningly loud, and the circle closed in on the bringers of destruction and the sphere. He could still see their lips moving and reciting the last part of the spell as the shadows passed them, and their heads leaned back in pain. He saw the power rise through them, bright beams of light shot from their eyes, mouth, and heart. The power consumed them in light, and they disappeared just as the shadows crashed into Alashia.

The grid on the cube shone brighter and brighter, until there was a huge explosion of light that shot out and engulfed the city. The towers began to burn, and collapsed onto themselves. The civilians within the shockwave of light were singed to ashes, and the rest were crushed by the towers. The explosion sent up a gigantic raging cloud of lighting, burning black ash, and soot from the rubble, and spread in all directions across the planet. Loki saw every last living thing swallowed up by this cloud, and when it had finally engulfed the planet, there were black ash clouds that snowed soot and shot bright red lightening. This storm destroyed what was left of the realm. More tears streamed down his face as he saw the beautiful world fall into eternal darkness.

Loki was standing in the empty blackness of the world, seeing an occasional strike of blood red lightening. The man was standing next to him again as he spoke, and he could sense the pain in his voice. "Little did Zegan and Salka know what the consequences were of using this spell in the way they did, and it cost them their lives, and almost everyone else's. But luckily one apprentice knew of Zegan and Salka's plans, and he immediately told the Aldrael of it. They worked together to make an escape plan, and they appointed new apprentices, one to every cube of the grid that would be transported somewhere in the universe. The Aldrael bond them by spells to the fate of their cube, so they could never lose sight of it. These people brought with them whomever they wished, and when the explosion came these people were sent off with their section. This plan saved over six-hundred thousand of our kind, and preserved the power of Alashia." The scene zoomed out of the atmosphere of the dark planet, and showed the now black swirling orb shimmer with blood red lights. "The apprentice who told the Aldrael of the plan was the high apprentice. The Aldrael knew he was the one to hold the only section that could reunite, and make the Alashia whole once more. This cube was called the Tesseract." This name sounded familiar to Loki. Yes he had heard of it, it was a symbol of great power to the Midgaurdians, but he thought it was just a myth, a meteorite that crashed to Earth billions of years ago.

"The Aldrael fell into Acoma as Zegan and Salka recited the spell of destruction, and he died in the explosion…" The man looked angry, but sadness was still in his voice. "I watched my master die, I was there through everything. It was my duty to protect the Tesseract, and all of its power. But as I was shot into space I was interrupted by a black hole that sent me away from the Tesseract, and I was knocked into a deep slumber for over two million years. When I awoke, I knew I had failed my master, and I knew I had to find the Tesseract and make Alashia whole again. I was led by my bond to the Tesseract to the planet Earth, its resting place. It had created life on earth, much like the one on Aidreneth, when it crashed with mighty force onto the surface. I could not enter and take it, for doing so would destroy this beautiful planet, but now I see the corruption of the creatures who rule this planet, the Humans. They destroy what has been gifted to them with their maddening greed for power." He noticed the man's fists clenching.

Loki understood him completely, that was why Loki never understood why Thor showed his undying love and faith in Humanity. "I don't understand why or how Alashia could create such creatures, but they must have some purpose, and that, Asgaurdian, is why you are here." Loki gave him a puzzled look, but he did not acknowledge it. "I have the power of the Tesseract pulsing through my veins, and I have shown you its true power. I give to you an orb. It is an enchanted orb that holds the power to show minds the truth, and to help you rule these pathetic creatures with it's power." In his large blue hands he held a bright blue orb, about the size of an apple that glowed and shimmered.

He pulled out a scepter from his cloak, it was a light golden color, and was about four feet long. At the end it had a curved blade, and smaller curved blades below it, giving it the look of having claws. He placed the orb in a small hole, underneath the biggest claw, and clicked it in securely. It slowly stopped shimmering, and turned into a dull glowing blue. He held the spear out, and he summoned a power with a few words in his language. A blue misty stream of pure energy ran out of his hand to the tip of the scepter, and illuminated off of it. It was a sight of pure power.

He turned to Loki, and pointed the end of the spear at him, the misty stream intensified as the tip if the blade neared him. "You will find the Tesseract for me, and you will _not_ fail." He brought the tip of the blade down onto his chest, the blue stream shot into him. Pain seared in through his core, and the beating of his heart in his chest felt like a repeating stab of a rusted blade. Every little vein, artery, and capillary that pulsed sent overwhelming pain into him. Every time they pulsed, it felt as if melted metal was running through him, and it spread all over his body.

Loki screamed and collapsed, clawing at his head and chest, trying to escape the terrible fire that pulsed through his veins. His eyes shot open, and he was back on the sooty soil of Aidreneth. But his heart pumped again, sending another series of horrible pain attacks. He screamed and clawed again, but the pain only sharpened with each heartbeat. "You will rule these mindless creatures, and you will show them TRUE power, and TRUE peace!" He spit as he brought the tip against his chest again, sending an overriding pain straight through him all the way to his finger tips. Loki screamed and slammed himself into the ground, convulsing, trying to block out the pain, but with no avail. The heart fire began again, and more screams heaved from his chest. The pain was overriding all of his memories, all of his morals. The pain was pushing his old self away.

A hand grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him up onto his knees. "You were treated as so much less than you truly are" The man whispered into his ear, as he stabbed his side and sent another wave of pain through him. Loki screamed in agony, he was reaching his limit very quickly. It was getting hard to see. "You were burdened with a glorious purpose. I knew this when I found you floating in the oblivion of space and time. I saved you! Revived you! And I showed you truth!" He stabbed him again. Loki arched his back in agony, heaving another scream of pain, as he clawed at his chest. "This will make you forget the needless pain of loss you feel from your past, and show you true pain! Once you know this, you will see your purpose in a brand new light, and you will be unstoppable!" The man seemed to be filled with great joy while torturing him.

He slowly brought the tip around to his chest, and stabbed him again, sending a flash of light. Loki's screams echoed through all of Aidrenenth. The pain overrode his every memory, every feeling, every emotion, and filled the empty space that was left by his past. His eyes slowly changed from the bright emerald green and glowed bright blue, sending his own blue mist stream out of his eyes. The last thing he saw was the girl, and her beautiful eyes.

Then, everything went black, and he knew no more.


End file.
